BU women’s soccer forward Taylor Krebs has five assists and one goal so far this year. She took Freshman All-America Second Team honors last year from Soccer America and was named Rookie of the Year by both her team and the America East conference.

Oh, and Thermo Fisher Scientific awarded Krebs (CAS’15) a $10,000 scholarship for her work in nanopore technology.

No, it’s not a new way to manufacture soccer balls. The star athlete won the top Thermo Fisher Scientific Pierce Scholarship for her study of a technology that helps identify viruses by running an electrical current through them and watching their response. The biology major was one of only two winners of the top prize of $10,000. Four other undergraduate and PhD students got $5,000.

Krebs, from Dove Canyon, Calif., spent her summer working in the lab of Zuzanna Siwy, a University of California, Irvine, associate professor of physics and astronomy and head of the Siwy Research Lab.

Krebs worked this past summer in the lab of Zuzanna Siwy, a University of California, Irvine, associate professor of physics and astronomy. Photo courtesy of Taylor Krebs

Krebs applied for the scholarship at the suggestion of Phil DeCarlo, BU’s director of student athletic support. She never expected to win, she says, but she filled out the application, which required her to write an essay on how she embodies one of Thermo Fisher’s values. “I picked the value ‘intensity’ because I think I have intensity in every aspect of my life, both in soccer and in school,” she says. “I’m a proactive person, and I work extra hard if I’m not getting something.”

She remembers a few years ago when she was one of the smallest players on the field, standing only five feet tall. To gain an advantage, she worked on her foot skills every day. In school, Krebs manages her time carefully to balance classes like organic chemistry and cell biology. If she has to miss class because of a game, she checks with professors early on to get any assignments in beforehand.

Krebs’ work this summer made her realize that studying nanopore technology probably won’t be her chosen area of research. Instead, she says, she will focus on genetics, medicine, and disease research. She says she will use her award money for graduate school tuition.

“Not all kids have that drive in both sides of life,” says women’s soccer coach Nancy Feldman. “But for Taylor both soccer and academics are her passion. She may be the person that may very well find the cure for something, because she’ll be in the lab hunting down the answer.”